Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life

(Hardback)

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From philosopher Agnes Callard, one of today's leading public intellectuals, comes a new and vibrant understanding of Socrates, his work, and his unique approach to learning The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, perhaps the single most important figure in Western culture, is hidden in plain view. If his claim that 'the unexamined life is not worth living' has ceased to shock us, that is not because we know how to live examined ones; we speak of 'the Socratic method' in ignorance of just how much that method demands of us. In Open Socrates, acclaimed philosopher Agnes Callard takes us deeper into Socrates' thought than any modern writer has. As she shows, Socrates noticed that the most important questions start off closed- before a person even has a chance to ponder how she should live, her bodily desires or the forces of social conformity have already answered on her behalf. Is it even possible to ask a question that you think you have already answered Callard answers yes - but we can't do it alone. She argues that the true ambition of the Socratic method is to reveal what one human being can be to another. You can use another person in many ways - for survival, for pleasure, for comfort - but you are engaging them to the fullest when you call on them to help answer your own questions, and challenge your own answers. How should we manage romantic love What is the right way to think about one's own death What form should our politics take These were the most intractable questions back in Socrates' time, and that continues to be true, 2,500 years later. Callard shows us how Socrates' method allows us to make progress in answering them - and, in the process, gives us nothing less than a new ethics to live by.

Reviews

When I think of public philosophers carrying out Socrates' legacy in their own way, I think of Agnes Callard -- Sean Illing * Vox *
Agnes Callard has a remarkable gift for making ancient philosophy feel modern, urgent, and electrifyingly alive. In her hands, Socrates and Plato arent distant figures but conversation partners pushing us to think through the deepest and most important questions of our lives -- Ian Leslie
Why might one think like a philosopher Or just inject some philosophical thinking into an otherwise ordinary life Agnes Callards radical manifesto, Open Socrates, makes the strongest possible case for inquiry, repeated questioning, and extreme philosophical curiosity. It holds the potential to change everything you think, feel, and do -- Tyler Cowen
In this brilliant and probing book, Agnes Callard thinks with and about Socrates, renewing his philosophy for the present by inviting her audience to become philosophical with her. For Callard, to become philosophical is to value intellectual life, to cultivate inquisitiveness, and to be open to arguments that make you rethink what you know, or to think about what you know for the first time In the place of a Socrates we may associate with perpetual irony and clever domination there emerges a philosopher of love who brings the practice of living and the mindful preparation for dying into a challenging conversation. Callard gives us a Socrates for the present in a book in which openness is its theme and manner. This book delivers the gift of thought as an open and beautiful invitation -- Judith Butler
Agnes Callard gives us a brilliant and vivid account of what a truly philosophic life could be. Her Socrates is a magnificent figure: uncompromisingly open, brave enough to live life without foundations and to pursue truth at all costs, yet no loner, but a man convinced that thinking is something we must do together. The book is both a challenge and an inspiration -- John Ferrari
Open Socrates will keep you up at night thinking about thinking: what makes it so hard to think about the questions we most deeply care about and how can we make progress Drawing on thinkers as diverse as Leo Tolstoy and William James and William Clifford to sharpen the difficulties, Agnes Callard describes how Platos Socrates practiced a kind of open-to-refutation joint inquiry into questions on which our actions and lives depend, and applies this Socratic approach to questions of politics, love, and death. The resulting discussions are chock-full of surprises and insights. Callard is the Socrates of our times -- Rachana Kamtekar
It is un-Socratic to praise a book that teaches us to be skeptical of praise or any settled judgment. Open Socrates is a work of the deepest intellectual integrity. Agnes Callard does not seek our agreement or approval. She encourages us to live life by questioning everything, even or especially her own words -- Merve Emre

Author Bio

Agnes Callard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her primary areas of specialization are ancient philosophy and ethics. She has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper's, Boston Review, and penned a monthly column for the Point. From 2019 to 2020, she held a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for the research that contributes to this book.